Harry's Green Holidays in the Hospital Wing
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry has to spend his winter holidays together with Minerva, Hermione, and Severus in the hospital wing. Will they get along, or are they going to kill each other? Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Harry


**Harry's Green Holidays in the Hospital Wing**

Minerva watched the three Gryffindor sixth years in the first row with growing concern. Harry seemed to be completely absentminded and had still to do his transfiguration of a mouse into a monkey and back, while his friends, who were sitting on both sides of him, were throwing him worried glances every now and then.

Finally, Harry pointed his wand at his stunned mouse, mumbling something, and an instant later, a rabbit was sitting on his desk, causing the student to groan in desperation.

"Try to concentrate a bit more, Mr. Potter," Minerva commented in an unusually soft voice, continuing to watch her students.

Hermione gently laid a hand on Harry's right arm and said something, which Minerva couldn't understand. However, she noticed that Harry nodded in obvious relief and sat back, putting his wand away.

Minerva glanced at her watch, seeing that the last morning class was nearly over, and quickly dismissed the students, while she pondered if she should hold Harry back and ask him what was wrong. However, by the time she decided positively, two of the Gryffindor trio had already left the room, while their third part was just coming over to her.

"Professor, may I disturb you for a moment?" Hermione asked politely, and Minerva ushered her into her office.

"What's wrong, Ms. Granger?" Minerva asked gently, offering the student a ginger nut.

"It's about Harry, Professor," Hermione began hesitantly. "I think that he's really ill. He woke up this morning with something like a cold, and when Ron and I tried to convince him to go to the hospital wing, because I found that he was burning up, he agreed, which is completely unusual for Harry. He only goes to see Madam Pomfrey when he's being forced or when he's feeling absolutely awful."

"I know that," Minerva agreed, remembering that she had brought the vehemently protesting child to the hospital wing a few times.

"Anyway, as you know Madam Pomfrey isn't there at the moment, and this young lady from St. Mungo's, I always forget her name..."

"Madam Poulard," Minerva threw in.

"All right, well, Madam Poulard gave him a Pepper-up potion and released him. However, Harry was feeling bad enough to ask her if she could give him a pass for you, so that he could return to his dormitory and lie down, but she told him that it was Friday afternoon and only a few classes left before the holidays and that he'd be fine with the Pepper-up potion. But he's not fine at all."

"I believe that," Minerva said in a very upset tone, making a mental note to exchange a few words with Madam Poulard. "Do you know if Mr. Potter went down to the Great Hall?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think so, Professor. He told me that he'd go and rest, and Ron promised to stay with him."

"All right Ms. Granger, thank you for alerting me to the problem. I'll go and look after Mr. Potter," Minerva promised, leaving her office together with her student.

Unfortunately, Harry was not in his dormitory. "Ms. Granger, what is your next class?" Minerva asked the student, who had been following her in concern for her friend.

"Potions, Professor," Hermione replied.

"All right Ms. Granger; let's head to the Great Hall for lunch. Maybe Mr. Weasley managed to coax Mr. Potter into eating lunch."

Not able to find the boy in the Great Hall either, Minerva turned to Severus and told him about her concern. "Could you please send him to me, if he shows up in your class?"

"Of course," Severus sneered. "Leave it to Potter to need a special invitation to go to bed instead of spreading his germs everywhere."

"Severus, you're absolutely horrible," Minerva scolded him, now getting really upset, and left the table in a huff. '_Why does Severus have to be so cruel towards Harry?_' she mused, feeling very unnerved by her colleague's behaviour towards her student.

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Twenty minutes later, Severus watched as the sixth year Slytherin and Gryffindor students filed into the Potions classroom. '_Of course Potter is among them_,' he noticed and strode over to where the Gryffindor dunderheads sat down.

"Potter, your Head of House wishes to speak with you immediately," he said silkily, giving the boy a menacing glare.

"Okay Professor," Harry replied, continuing to look in his Potions book.

"Potter!" Severus hissed, causing the boy to give him a confused look. "I told you that Professor McGonagall wants to speak with you. Go!"

"But sir, her class has already started as well. I can go and see her after the afternoon classes," Harry replied in utter confusion.

"You will go NOW," the teacher hissed menacingly.

Harry shrugged and shouldered his bag, leaving the room as quickly as he could in spite of the dizziness that overcame him as soon as he stood up. He slowly dragged himself up the stairs back to Gryffindor. By the time he arrived in front of the Transfiguration classroom, the first afternoon class was already half over, and Harry decided not to disturb the class but to wait outside. He stood next to the door and let himself sink onto the floor.

He was completely engrossed in his thoughts about the upcoming holidays that he didn't notice Peeves approach. Only when the mischievous ghost began to shoot icy cold water at him with a water pistol, Harry looked up and hissed, "Stop that immediately, or do you want me to make a few tests about the effects of the Cruciatus Curse on ghosts?"

"Hahaha, little Potty has the green fever," Peeves laughed.

'_The green fever?_' Harry thought in confusion. Feeling too awful to interact anymore with the ghost, he buried his face in his arms and decided to ignore Peeves and wait for the end of the class. '_McGonagall will throw a drying spell and a warming spell on me_,' he tried to calm himself, while he was shivering violently.

Finally, the first afternoon class was over, and Peeves left as soon as the first students filed out, while Harry warily entered the classroom.

Minerva let out a huge gasp when she saw Harry. "Harry, what happened to you? You look green!"

"I don't know; maybe it was Peeves." Harry shrugged. "Could you please throw a drying spell on me, Professor? Peeves made me all wet."

Minerva sighed and waved her wand at Harry to cast a drying spell and a scourgifying spell at Harry, frowning when Harry's skin remained green. She carefully reached out and laid a hand on the boy's forehead, gasping again when she felt the heat he radiated. "You're burning up, Harry. What did Madam Poulard say is wrong with you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "She said it was a cold and it would go away with Pepper-up potion." '_As if I'd go to the hospital wing with a mere cold_,' he added silently.

Minerva gave him an understanding smile and motioned him to follow her into her office, where she made him sit down on a chair and fetched a magical thermometer. "Harry, let me take your temperature, please," she told him, sticking it into his mouth, before she went to the fireplace and called the Headmaster. She quickly filled the man in on what happened in the hospital wing this morning and asked him to take a look at her student.

Harry felt extremely uncomfortable at all the attention and mumbled something incoherent around the thermometer, which let out a pink 41.0 when Minerva finally took it out, giving Harry a horrified look.

"I've heard of a wizarding illness called 'green fever'," Albus said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should call Madam Poulard and let her check on Harry once more."

Minerva hurriedly called the Medi-witch, who stepped out of the fireplace a few minutes later. "Could you please check on my student once more?" Minerva asked politely, although her mouth was stretched to a thin line. "He looks green to me; however, we're not sure if this is part of his ailment or the effect of a prank that a ghost played on him."

The Healer waved her wand at Harry and stated, "I cannot find anything wrong except for a slight temperature."

The Headmaster, who had remained in the shadow so far, stepped over to Harry and the lady and said thoughtfully, "When we took his temperature with a magical thermometer a few minutes before, it flared pink and the numbers displayed showed 41.0, which can hardly be called a slight temperature. Madam Poulard, I believe that your service is not needed anymore at Hogwarts, and you may return to St. Mungo's immediately."

While the headmaster accompanied the Medi-witch to the fireplace, Minerva crouched in front of Harry and asked, "Harry, how do you feel? Does something hurt, does your skin itch, or do you just feel sick because of the high fever?"

"My skin doesn't hurt but my head and my throat are sore," Harry replied and turned his eyes to the professor, before all of a sudden blackness overcame him and he slumped down in his chair.

Minerva quickly transfigured the chair into a bed and told the headmaster, "Quickly Albus, call Severus; Harry just fainted."

"All right, I'll go and take his class," Albus replied and stepped into the fireplace, from where the Potions Master emerged a mere minute later.

"What does it mean he threw the Medi-witch out and I have to do Poppy's work until she comes back?" he asked, a slightly upset expression on his face.

"We couldn't trust her anymore," Minerva explained quickly. "We'll tell you everything later, but you have to check on Harry quickly. He has a very high fever, and he fell unconscious a few minutes ago."

Severus sighed and waved his wand at the boy several times to run diagnostic spells, until his wand finally let out red sparks. He frowned, before he cast an Enervate spell on the child to wake him up. "Potter, let me quickly check on you," he told the boy and lit the tip of his wand to peer into his mouth and eyes.

"What is it, Severus?" Minerva asked worriedly, noticing that her colleague's expression had become very stern, while he checked on the child.

Severus sighed. "Leave it to Potter to get something really special," he sneered, before he continued in a soft, silky voice, "He caught green fever, which is a very rare, magical disease. The indications are a high fever along with a headache, an infected throat, and a green skin. I've never seen this before; however, I assume that this is a bad case of the illness. He'll have to remain in bed for about a week or two I suppose." He remained pensive for a moment, before he asked, "Did anyone touch him?"

Minerva gave him a terrified look. "Yes, I touched him to feel his forehead and to help him lie down on the bed."

"Hermione felt my forehead too," Harry threw in, noticing that his voice was starting to fail.

"Then I should take Potter with me to the hospital wing and put you and Ms. Granger in quarantine for the time being," Severus softly told his colleague. "I'm not sure how long the incubation period is, but as far as I know it's only a few days or maybe only hours. I only remember that it's very short in comparison to other illnesses, but I'll look it up and inform you."

Seeing that Minerva gave him an anxious look, he sighed. "If you can remain patient for a few minutes, I'll go and look it up straight away. I have to fetch a stronger fever reducer for Potter anyway." He strode away only to return minutes later. "You're lucky, Minerva. The incubation period is only ten hours. By tomorrow morning at the latest you'll know if you caught it. The illness itself lasts about a week, depending on how bad it is of course. I suggest that while I'll take Potter through the Floo, you head down to the Great Hall, where dinner is going to start soon anyway, and collect Ms. Granger. I wish to see both of you in the hospital wing for a check-up."

"You have to touch him, if you're going to take him through the Floo," Minerva stated worriedly.

"Yes, but since I've received the normal Healer's immunization shot, I should be immune to it," Severus replied, smirking.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden," Harry croaked.

"It's not your fault, Harry," Minerva replied gently, giving the child an understanding smile.

"I've no idea, where you could catch such a rare disease though," Severus sneered, before he picked Harry up, astonished how light he was, and took him through the fireplace into the hospital wing, where he gently put him down on the first bed right next to Poppy's office.

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Minerva walked down to the Great Hall, deep in thoughts. Seeing that Albus was already sitting at the Head table, she stepped over and quickly filled him in, before she turned to the Gryffindor table.

"Ms. Granger, please follow me," she said crisply, glad when the girl obeyed immediately.

"Where are we going, Professor?" Hermione asked astonished. "Is something with Harry?"

Minerva sighed, slowing her pace. "Harry has caught a rare disease named 'green fever,' and everyone, who touched him, has to be put in quarantine for a day, which means the two of us."

"Oh," Hermione said surprised, before she suddenly groaned and her eyes widened in horror. "I think I've already got it from him, Professor, if it's possible to get it so quickly. My throat began to hurt during our last class, and I have a terrible headache."

"Then you've probably already caught it, Ms. Granger," Minerva replied, sighing, and gave the girl a piercing look, resisting the urge to feel her forehead for a fever.

"But I wanted to go home tomorrow," Hermione suddenly remembered, panicking.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Granger, but if it's really the green fever, you won't be able to go home for at least a week," Minerva said calmingly, gently putting an arm around the girl when she suddenly burst into tears and tiredly leaned against her.

'_Oh no, I touched her_,' Minerva thought horrified, when Hermione had finally calmed down a bit and they resumed their slow walk to the hospital wing.

Severus was already waiting for them and ushered them into the beds next to Harry's. Minerva gave Harry a terrified look. His skin had turned completely green, while his face was flushed in a deep red colour. "How is he?" she asked gently, sitting down on the bed next to the boy.

"He is very ill," Severus replied, sticking magical thermometers into Hermione's and Minerva's mouths. "I already had to transfigure his bed into a bathtub because his fever was so high. Well, you obviously got it too," he sighed when he took the thermometers back, seeing that Minerva's showed a yellow 38.5 and Hermione's a red 40.1.

"Severus, may I return to my quarters as long as I feel well?" Minerva asked pleadingly. '_I can't tell that anyone, but I hate the hospital wing as much as Harry does_,' she mused.

"No Minerva, you already have a fever, and you won't feel well for too long now," Severus replied sternly.

Minerva sighed. "All right then, can you please ask Albus to contact Ms. Granger's parents and tell them that she can't go home tomorrow?"

"Of course Minerva," Severus promised and stepped over to Hermione to look into her mouth and eyes and make her drink a fever reducer.

"Professor, can I go back to my dormitory and fetch my school bag?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly hoarse, and gave the teacher a pleading look.

"No, Ms. Granger, you're ill, and as long as you have such a high fever, you mustn't read or study at all. When your condition improves, I'll send a house elf to fetch your bag," Severus promised and turned back to Minerva. "Let me quickly look into your eyes and mouth as well," he said, lighting the tip of his wand once more.

Severus spent the whole night in the hospital wing, resting in a chair and checking on his three patients every two hours, especially on Harry, because his fever remained dangerously high.

When Minerva watched him transfigure Harry's bed into a bathtub for the third time since she woke up in the morning, she asked, "Severus, isn't there anything else you can give him to get his fever down?"

"I could go and make a different fever reducer. I have one recipe with an extremely strong version," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Do you feel well enough to keep an eye on your bed neighbours for about two hours? I should brew that immediately. I'm not sure, but I have the feeling as if I was getting sick too."

"Really?" Minerva asked horrified and gave her younger colleague a piercing glance, noticing that his cheeks were slightly flushed and that pearls of sweat were building on his forehead. "I thought you said you were immunized against the illness. Are you feeling well enough to brew the potion?"

"I still feel well; it's just that my throat is getting sore, and my headache seems to be resistant against the normal headache potion. Please take your temperatures in an hour. The results will be recorded on the patient cards automatically. I'll be back in less than two hours."

By the time Severus returned, his cheeks were deeply flushed and his voice sounded hoarse, when he sat on the edge of Harry's bed, helped the boy to sit up a bit, and pressed a phial against his lips. "Drink this, Potter; it's a very strong fever reducer."

Harry obediently gulped down the potion, giving the teacher a concerned look. "Are you ill too, Professor?" he croaked.

"I'm afraid so," Minerva replied, who had left her bed and was standing right behind Severus. "Open up," she ordered her colleague and stuck the thermometer into his mouth, frowning when an orange 39.5 came out of its business end after a short time. "Into bed with you, Severus," she instructed her colleague. "We'll just have to look after each other, and since I'm the one, whose condition is the best, at least at the moment, I'm going to look after everyone today."

"I can help too," Harry croaked. "This new potion helped immensely, and I'm feeling much better."

"If you so much as put a foot out of your bed, I'm going to use it as potions ingredients," Severus hissed hoarsely, before he gulped down a fever reducing potion and lay down in the bed opposite of Harry's.

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A few hours later, Harry was captured in a fever induced nightmare about his uncle, who wanted to beat him with his belt. "No Uncle, please, I don't know how this happened, I promise I'll be good," he mumbled hoarsely.

"Harry, wake up; it's only a dream," Minerva told him softly, gently bathing his dry, flushed face with a cool cloth until Harry finally opened his eyes.

"Pfessor," he croaked, sounding absolutely exhausted. "You must go to bed, you're sick too." '_She shouldn't aggravate her condition only because I'm too stupid to occlude my mind_,' he thought, not considering the fact that his fever dreams had nothing to do with Occlumency.

"Yes, I know that, but you're much worse, and I want to be sure that you'll be all right first," the teacher replied gently. She proceeded to take the boy's temperature, noticing with concern that he was still running a dangerously high fever. After gently helping him to sit up, she handed him a glass of water, scolding him lightly when he greedily gulped the cool liquid down only to end up in a coughing fit. Finally, Minerva made him drink his potion, noticing in relief that Harry to visibly relaxed.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out of bed in the middle of the night," Harry said, feeling much more coherent after the potion had taken effect. He scrambled out of his bed and followed the teacher to her bed, sitting down on the edge to check on her and make sure that she'd take her potion as well. Finally, he took a cool cloth from her night table and gently wiped her sweaty face like she had done for him before."

"Thank you Harry," Minerva mumbled gratefully, making him stop by putting a hand on his arm, "but you need to go back to bed and sleep."

Harry carefully adjusted the cloth to her forehead, seeing that she already drifted off to sleep, and returned to his own bed.

A few minutes later, Harry heard Severus speak in his sleep. "I know, Headmaster, I should get up and look after them, but I feel so dizzy; sorry, Albus, I'm really sorry..."

Harry quickly scrambled out of his bed and dragged himself to the teacher's bed, holding on to the wall as he walked. "Professor," he whispered softly, lightly shaking the man's shoulder. "Wake up, Professor, it's only a nightmare, everything is all right."

Severus finally stirred and lazily opened his eyes, letting out a gasp when he recognized Harry sitting on the edge of his bed. "Potter, what are you doing here?" he croaked, feeling horrified at the thought that the boy had witnessed his nightmare.

"I just wanted to wake you up from your nightmare," Harry replied softly. "I'd also like to check on you and give you the potion. Professor McGonagall did the same for me thirty minutes ago." He picked up the thermometer from the night table and handed it to the professor, glad when the man obediently took it in.

Harry frowned at the red number and asked gently, "Would you like some water first, sir?"

"Yes please," the professor croaked, and Harry gently helped him up into a half sitting position, before he pressed the glass against the teacher's dry lips, careful to let the man only take small sips. "Now it's the potion, sir; you'll feel much better," Harry said gently, exchanging the glass with the phial, before he helped the professor to lie down again and adjusted the cold cloth on his forehead.

"Thanks Potter," Severus mumbled hoarsely, already falling asleep. "Now go back to bed, and I don't want to see you out of bed again during the next few days."

"Yes sir," Harry replied and dragged himself back to his bed, when he remembered that he should look after Hermione as well. He carefully walked to his friend's bed, holding on to Minerva's bed on his way. However, a look at the card on her night table showed him that Minerva had already checked on the girl and given her the potion just an hour ago. '_Strange; McGonagall and Hermione are much better than Snape and I_,' he mused on his way back into his bed.

Back in his bed, Harry thought about Severus' nightmare and suddenly made a decision. "Dobby!" he whispered, worried if the little elf would hear him.

"Harry! What cans Dobby dos for Harry Potter?" Dobby asked, bowing deeply.

"Dobby, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time of the night. Could you please bring me some parchment and a quill? I'll need you to take a letter to Professor Dumbledore in a few minutes."

Within seconds, Dobby returned with the required items and waited patiently, while Harry wrote, '_Dear Professor Dumbledore, I just witnessed a nightmare of Professor Snape. He was talking to you, apologizing over and over because he's sick and unable to look after all of us. In fact, we're all looking after each other, and it works well. Could you please do something to make him feel better about it? Yours sincerely, Harry Potter._'

"Here Dobby, please place it on top of his desk, so that he'll see it in the morning. Thanks."

With that, Harry let himself sink back into his pillow, feeling absolutely exhausted.

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The next day was Christmas Eve, and in the morning the Headmaster showed up in the hospital wing to see if everything was all right.

"Albus, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked, giving the headmaster a reprimanding glare.

"Oh, I was just worried about all of you and wanted to see how you're getting on," the old man replied gently, throwing an unobtrusive smile at Harry.

"Well, Ms. Granger and I am quite well, and we'll be able to look after the others today; however, Severus and Harry are running an extremely high fever, which hasn't improved at all so far," Minerva quickly filled the headmaster in.

"Albus, please do me a favour and stay away from here," Severus threw in hoarsely. "I appreciate your concern, but none of us is in a condition to look after even more people."

"All right," the headmaster agreed and grudgingly left the hospital wing, after whispering to Harry, "You'll get a small Christmas surprise tomorrow."

Probably due to the fact that Harry had spent quite a time out of bed during the night, his condition was worse than on the day before, and he was delirious, falling from one fever induced nightmare into the next. Each time, either Hermione or Minerva woke him up and talked with him, sitting on the edge of his bed, until he felt calm enough to try to sleep again.

However, during the night, neither of the two women heard Harry beg his uncle not to beat him, and Harry's first thought when he lazily opened his eyes was that he was hallucinating. '_Is that Snape, sitting on the edge of my bed and wiping my face in such a gentle manner?_' he mused, feeling extremely confused.

"Sorry Professor for waking you up," he croaked and closed his eyes again, already drifting back to sleep.

However, a short while later, Harry was having the same conversation with his uncle again, when suddenly the Potions Master's soft, silky voice penetrated his ear.

"It's all right, Harry; your uncle is not here since you're safe at Hogwarts."

"But I saw him, and he wanted to beat me with his belt," Harry mumbled back sleepily.

"Why would he want to beat you?" Severus asked gently, while he pulled the boy's pyjama top down over his shoulder to stick the thermometer under his armpit in order to talk to the child while he checked on him.

Harry sighed, unaware of the fact that he was just blabbering his most private secrets to his most hated teacher. "He hates me, because I'm a good for nothing freak and a burden and because he hates magic."

"Did your uncle tell you that?" Severus enquired silkily.

"Every day," Harry replied miserably.

"No Harry, you're not a freak; on the contrary, you're a very powerful wizard and a much more lovable person than your uncle seems to be," Severus told him softly, gently bathing the boy's hot face, before he pulled the thermometer out and frowned at the red numbers.

"I believe that we should speak again about your so-called family when you're feeling better," the professor suggested, while he spelled a potion containing his strongest fever reducer laced with a few drops of a calming draught straight into the boy's stomach.

'_Did I just speak with Snape about the Dursleys?_' Harry realized in horror when he became more alert due to the potion's effect. However, somehow it didn't matter and he gratefully mumbled, "Thanks Professor," knowing that the teacher had tried to help him in spite of feeling awful himself.

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A few hours later, a brisk voice penetrated his ears. "Good morning, Mr. Potter. How do you feel?"

He lazily opened his eyes. "Madam Pomfrey!" he croaked surprised, very glad to see the Healer. "Is it all right for you to be here though? Won't you get sick like Professor Snape?"

"No Mr. Potter. I went to St. Mungo's yesterday to receive the immunization against the green fever, which is not included in the normal Healer's immunization, because the illness is so rare." She quickly waved her wand over the boy, sighing, before she spelled the fever reducer into his stomach.

Only when Poppy was finished with him, Harry noticed the Christmas tree that was placed on the opposite side of the room, where Severus' bed had been before, which had now been moved next to Harry's. While he looked at the tree in complete amazement, Poppy conjured a small table between Severus' and Harry's beds and allowed Minerva and Hermione to get up and sit on the edge of one of the beds. Finally, she pulled up a chair for herself, so that she and her four patients could eat Christmas breakfast together. Seconds later, a house elf served breakfast.

Under Poppy's stern regiment, all four patients' health began to improve steadily, and a few days later, Minerva and Hermione were approved to get up for a short while, and Harry and Severus were allowed to sit up and read or play something.

"Shall we play chess?" Severus suggested one day, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"I'd like that very much sir, but I'm not a good player," Harry replied, smirking.

Once they started to play, they had so much fun that they played until Poppy forced both of them to take a nap a few hours later.

Two days later after their evening check-up, Poppy told Hermione and Minerva that she was going to release both of them in the morning. "You may go back to your quarters, Minerva, and you may go home if you wish, Ms. Granger. However, I need both of you to rest as much as possible, seeing that you're both still very weak."

"Thanks Poppy," Minerva replied after a confirming nod from Hermione, "however, we decided to remain here and look after Severus and Harry, so that you can go back to your family for the remaining week of the holidays."

Poppy threw her colleague and best friend an astonished glance. "Are you sure, Minerva, that you want to put up with them? They're still running quite a fever, they're both very stubborn, and they don't like to listen at all."

Hermione laughed, looking at a pouting Harry and a sulking professor. "Well, during this week, we somehow became used to each other. It's as if we were a small family, and we really want to look after the others, provided that Professor Snape and Harry don't mind."

"Why would we mind?" Harry threw in hoarsely. "We'd be glad if Madam Pomfrey could continue her holidays, although I feel bad for you, if you sacrifice your holidays just for us."

"Exactly," Severus spoke up, sounding as hoarse as Harry. "We're both a bit better now, and we're able to look after each other."

"Are you sure that you'd be able to get along without killing each other?" Minerva enquired, raising an eyebrow.

"On the contrary, I'd like to try to get along with Harry since I'm considering applying for the guardianship over him in order to rescue him from his abnormal relatives," Severus croaked, "provided that he wants to become my ward."

"I'd love that, Professor," Harry replied, feeling surprised but extremely happy at the thought. '_Then I wouldn't have to go back to the Dursleys; that would be absolutely brilliant_,' he mused.

"No! I will definitely not let you remain here just by yourselves. You're still much too ill to care for another," Poppy stated, sounding very stern. "Look at your green skin and the fever you're still running. Minerva and Hermione, if you really don't mind looking after these two for another week, I'll return to my family tomorrow morning. However, I'll floo over once a day to check on your patients. Thanks a lot for your offer."

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During the following week, the four inhabitants of the hospital wing became very close and spent much time talking to each other. They also conducted many tiring discussions with the headmaster concerning Harry and his so-called family. When Poppy finally released Harry and Severus right in time for the Welcoming feast, Albus strode into the hospital wing, handing Severus a small pile of parchments.

"Harry," Severus said after a glance on the parchments, "these parchments are the guardianship parchments from the ministry. From today onwards, I'm your guardian, and you'll never have to return to the Dursleys.

"Thanks a lot, Professor," Harry replied happily. "That's the very best of my Christmas presents."

**The End**

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_As you know, I'm not a native speaker of English; please excuse my mistakes or tell me, so that I can correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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